The Daily News. TUESDAY, JUNE 1, 1920. DOMINION'S FINANCES.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 June 1920, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, JUNE 1, 1920. DOMINION'S FINANCES.

The publication of the revenue and expenditure figures for the last quarter of the financial year 1919-20 enables a fairly correct estimate to be formed of the financial operations for the whole year, though the actual figures may show a trifling difference. When the figures for the first half of the year were available, Sir James Allen expressed the opinion that the revenue and expenditure would about balance one another, but it now appears there is a surplus of close upon £2,300,000, as against last year's £3,678,773. It is interesting to note that the j total of the revenue exceeded twenty-six millions, which is over 3f millions more than was received in the previous year, while the expenditure was £23,862,363 (approximately) as against £lB.673,599 in the preceding year, so that although the receipts increased by £3,796,000, the expenditure advanced by £5,188,764, and this accounts for the surplus this year being less than for 1919-20. The chief items of increased revenue were customs (£1,000,000), stamp and death duties (over a million), post and telegraph (£130,000), [ railways (about three-quarters oE a million). It is not surprising that the customs revenue should be largely increased, as imports have become much dearer, and the duties are levied according to value and not according to quantity. An illustration as to how the department assesses values was recently given by Mr. L. M. Isitt, M.P., who quoted the case of a Christchurch merchant whose goods were invoiced at £3l 7s, but duty was charged on £4l 7s, the present day value, so that it would seem customs officials are not averse to the principle of profiteering. The increase in the stamp and death duties does not seem to be sufficiently large to correspond with the higher rates in vogue, considering the numerous land transactions at abnormally advanced prices, but the excess of duties over the previous year is particularly welcome. While the additional three-quar-ters of a million in the railway revenue is all that could be expected under the circumstances, it has to be noted that the expenditure was £1,390,000 more than in the previous year, there being only a gain of £791,000 on the year's working. In the case of the Post and Telegraph Department the increased revenue of £132,000 was more than counterbalanced by a rise of £242,000 in the expenditure, though there was a profit of £155,000. It is not prudent when considering the revenue side of the accounts to lay too much stress on the figures. In the general way a keen eye is kept on the revenue, but when it comes to the expenditure business it is quite another matter. The continuous soaring of the expense in the public departments is startling. Some of it is due to the rises in wages and bonuses, but it would seem that very little effort is made to economise where possible. That departmental expenditure should haye risen by,

nearly three millions last year should cause apprehension on the part of the public, and there would seem to be good cause for putting on the brake. In this matter some of the new business men in the House would find ample scope for their energies, especially in view of the probability of extra taxation being imposed during the current financial i year. It might liave been expected that the Defence Department would have shown a decreased expenditure, instead of which there was an increase of £86,000, the total being £502,465, a sum far in excess of present needs. Had there been a large increase in the expense of education it would have been considered justified, but the extra £429,000 is but an insignificant sum compared with what the service needs to, place it on a proper footing. The Department of Agriculture shows an increased cost of £578,000, but if the additional money has been judiciously expended it should prove a good paying investment. Naturally the cost of the work of the Lands Department has risen, but so has the volume of business in consequence of settling soldiers on the land. The heaviest item in the balance-sheet is in respect of permanent charges for interest and sinking fund, amounting to £7,249,826 (the whole of the consolidated revenue for the year 1904 was only £7,130,117), an increase of £1,163,057 over the previous year, while the permanent charges under special Acts rose from £3,103,412 to £4,193,624, so i that these two items which have to be met by the taxpayers took last a year a toll of nearly Hi millions of money. Fortunately the prosperity of the Dominion is such that the people can stand the ! burden if it is equitably distri- ' buted, but as to whether this is the case at present, opinions may differ. There should, however, bo a consensus of view that the present rate of increase in expenditure should not be allowed to continue.